Means for operating the adjustable hoods of pneumatic straw-stackers.



No. 722,451. PATENTED MAR. 10, 1903.

J. A. MOSER. v MEANS FOR OPERATING THE ADJUSTABLE HOODS 0]? PNEUMATIC I STRAW STACKERS. APPLIOATION FILED JUNI: ze, 1902.

. I I I I o w/TNEssEs.- I e Www /N vE/v Tof? No. 722,451. PATENTQED MAR. 1o, 1903.

J. v A. MOSER.

MEANS POR OPERATING THE ADJUSTABLE HOODS OE PNEUMATIG STRAW STAGKERS.

APPLICATION FILED .TUNE 26, 1902. `I0 MODEL. 4 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

@Hrm/mns.

No. 722,451. PATENTED MAR. 10.1903.

J. A. MOSERl MEANS FOR OPERATING THE ADJUSTABLE HOODS OE PNEUMATIC- STRAW STAOKERS.

. APPLICATION FILED .UNEZL 1902. I0 MODEL.' 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

No. 722,451. PATENTED MAR. l0, 1903.

J. A. MOSER. MEANS FUR OPERATING THE ADJUSTABLE HOODS 0E PNEUMATIC STRAW STAGKERS.

APPLICATION FILED -JUNE 26, 1902.

I0 MODEL. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

w/TNESSES mm /N VEN TOR @www @r6/@VL v vUNITED STATES PATENT Orricn.

vJACOB A. MOSER, OF BERNE, INDIANA.

MEANS FOR OPERATING THE ADJUSTABLE HOODS 0F PNEUMATIC STRAW-STACKERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 722,451, dated March 10,1903- Application filed June 26, 1902. Serial No. 113,192. (No model.)

To all whom Ai2? Wha/y concern: Y

Beit known that I, JACOB A. MOSER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Berne, in the county of Adams, in the State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Operating the Adjustable Hoods of Pneumatic StraW-Stackers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part ot' this specilication.

My invention relates to improvements in means for operating the adjustable hood of a pneumatic straw-stacker.

The object of my present invention is to provide a cheap, simple, convenient, and reliable means for shifting or adjusting the rotatable hood of a pneumatic straw-stacker to regulate the throw of the straw and for firmly securing the same in any desired adjustment. y

My present invention consists of improved means for actuating the rotatable hood, an improved means for rigidly securing the same in any desired position, and improved means for rotatably mounting the hood upon the free end of the telescoping chute.

The object of my present invention is accomplished by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a side view of my invention in position upon a common form of pneumatic chute having a common form of hood rotatably mounted thereon, the telescoping chute being largely broken away. Fig. 2 is an enlarged end view of the winding-drums and clutch mechanism in position upon the chute shown in cross-section. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of the means for actuating the clutch mechanism. Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged det-ails of the ball-bearing connection between the stacking-chiite and the rotatable hood. Fig. 6 is an inner end view of one of the clutch members, showing the relative arrangement of the spring-pressed holding-pawl. Fig. 7 is a vertical central section of one of the winding-drums, the clutch mechanism, and the means for actuating the same. Fig. 8 is a bers.

proved brake for rigidly securing the hood in position, broken away in part. Fig. 10 is a front end view of the said brake and of the operating-ropes and pulleys therefor. Fig. 11 is a plan view of the supporting-bracket for the clutch mechanism. Fig. 12 is an enlarged detail of the means forv actuating the clutch mechanism. Fig. 13 is a detail showing a manner of securing ropes to the sleeve.

On a telescoping straw-stacker 1, of common or other proper form, having. a proper hood 2 of common form, with its free end provided, as usual, with the pivoted folding seetions 3, Fig. 1, is rigidly fixed the upright bracket 4, Fig. 2, in which is rotatably mounted the inner ends of the drum-shafts and 6, on which are respectively and loosely mounted the winding-drums 7 and 8, -to which one end of the respective operating-ropes 9 and 10 are secured and on which they are wound. The other ends of these ropes are secured to the rear end of the rotatable hood 2 in any proper manner. On the inner ends of the said shafts and between the sides of the said bracket 4 are rigidly fixed the respective,

sprocket-wheels l2 and 13, carrying one end of the driving sprocket-chain 14, Figs. 1, 2, and 12. vBetween the sides of the said bracket 4, on a proper shaft 14', is loosely mounted the idler 15, whose function is to hold the said chain to its engagement with the said wheel13. The other end of the said chain is mounted on the sprocket-wheel 16, Fig. 1, whichV is fixed onone end of the horizontal shaft 17, revolubly mounted in suitable bearings and carrying on its other end a proper hand-wheel 18 for use in telescoping or extending the sections of the stacking-tube in a Well-understood manner by means of the bar17 and the operating-rope 18' in the usual manner. It is necessary to run the chain 14 over the top instead of the bottom of the.

IOO

This coiled spring 19 is held in place by means of a circular plate 20, having a central opening for the shaft- 5. This plate 2O is rigidly secured to an annular shoulder 21 in a circular recess 22 in the outer face of said drum. This recess 22 is closed by an outer circular plate 23, having a central opening to loosely admit the coupling member 25 of the clutch mechanism and the' reduced inner end of the hub 24 of the gear-wheel 24. This member 25 is xed on the shafts 5 and 6, has its inner end provided with a series of peripheral notches 26, with which the holding-pawl 27 is held to an engagement by the spring 28 in a well-understood manner.A The pawl 27 and spring 28 are mounted upon the inner face of the said plate 23, Fig. 6.

The clutch member 25 is provided upon its outer end with a pair of notches or shoulders 30, is secured in position on its shaft against longitudinaldisplacement,and is rigidly fixed to the said shaft by means of the set-screw 29, whose inner end engages the said shaft in the annular recess 29', Fig. 7. The other clutch member'34 is .loosely mounted on the shaft 5, and has its inner end provided with holdingnotches 35, adapted to form an interlocking engagement with the notches 30 of the adjacent end of the member 25. The outer end of 'the coupling member 34 has an annular recess 36, which is engaged by the corresponding bifurcated end of the upright shifting-lever 37, Figs. 2 and 3, which is pivotally mounted midway of its ends on the outer endof the U-shaped frame 38 and has a fixed operating hand-lever 39, by means of which the upper and lower clutch member 34 can be alternately pushed inward into an engagement with its respective member 25, thereby reversing the direction of rotation of the said drums in awell-understood manner. On the said clutch members 34 are loosely mounted the gear-wheels 24 and 24', respectively, each of which has an inner longitudinal groove 4l, with which a fixed pin 42 on the said member 34 engagesmthereby preventing any rotation of said gear-wheelsindependently of the said clutch members 34. Longitudinal derangement of the said gear-wheels is prevented by means of the screws 43, so arranged in the inner end of the hubs of said wheels as to engage the adjacent edge of the said plate 23, Fig. 7. In the sides of the said frame or bracket 38 is rotatably mounted the shaft 44, carrying on its outer end an operating fixed handle 45 and having approximately midway of its ends a y xed gear-wheel 32, in mesh with the said gearwheels 24 and 24'. Each end of the shiftinglever 37 is connected to a properly-placed stud 47, respectively, by means of a coiled spring 48, to firmly secure the said leverv in either limit of its adjustment. On the outer face and upper end of the said bracket 4 is rigidly bolted the horizontal bracket 40, whose bent ends are in substantial alinement, Fig. 11, and which carries on its forward end a grooved pulley or idler 50, and having its rear end provided with a rack-bar 51, in which is arranged a hand-lever 52, pivoted at its lower end to the side of the tube 1, and which carries a spring-pressed pawl'53, adapted to engage said rack-bar, and carries a sheave 54 midway its ends. To the said shaft 17 is secured the rear end of the rope 55, which then passes over the said pulleys 50 and 54 and has its forward end secured to the folding sections 3 of the hood 2, Fig. 1. The folding sections 3 of sald hood 2 can thus be conveniently raised or lowered by means of the said lever 52.v 7"

The ball-bearing connection between the hood 3 and the forward end of the deliverytube 1 is shown in detail in Figs. 4 and 5 and is described as follows: At or near the forward end of the tube 1 is revolubly mounted the sleeve 11, to which the forward ends of the operating-ropes 9 and 10 are secured after passing over'the guide-pulleys 49 and 56 and 49' and 56', respectively. The sleeve 1l has its forward end secured to the hood 2 by proper screws 63 and has the thickened portion of its forward end provided with an annular groove upon its inner face for the balls 57, over which is loosely fitted a ring 58. This ring is held in place by a second or inner sleeve 59, which is bolted to the tube 1. This sleeve 59 has upon its front face an annular groove for the balls 57 and has upon its rear face an annular groove for the balls 60, which are similarly held in place by a ring 61, having lateral openings for said balls. These balls 60 and the ring 61 are held in position by a second externally-screwthreaded ring 62.

My improved means for rigidly securing the rotatable hood in any desired adjustment consists of a spring-pressed brake normally in a holding frictional engagement with the saidring 11 and adapted to be automatically released from such engagement when the said hood is being adjusted and is constructed and arranged as follows: To the outer face of the tube 1, at or near the rear edge of the sleeve 11,is rigidly fixed a supporting-bracket consisting of a curved base portion 64, apair of rising and forwardly-projecting integral standards 65, united at their forward end by the integral portion 66, having an apertured lateral lug 67, in which is slidably mounted the horizontal bar 68, having a stop-pin 69 xed therein to limit its rearward movement therein. This bar 68 has its rear end reduced and made cylindrical, theinner portion of which-is screw-threaded, as shown in Fig. 9. The cylindrical portion of this bar is surmounted by a coiled spring 69 and has its rear extremity loosely mounted in the apertured end of asupporting-bracket 70, rigidly fixed to the said tube and having its other npturned end provided with a fixed pivot 71, on which is pivotally mounted a bell-crank lever 72, having one arm thereof pivotally connected to the said bar 68 by means of the arm 73. The other arm 74 of this bell-crank leveris provided upon its lower IOO IIO

face with a proper brake-shoe 75, adapted to normally engage the adjacent surface of the said sleeve 1l under thetension of the said coilspring 69, which has one end bearing against the adjacent end of the said bracket and the other end bearing against the nut 76, by which the tension of the said spring is regulated. The forward end of the bar 68 is provided with the opposite lateral loops 77, in which are pivotally mounted the respective pulleys 49 and 49', on which are mounted the ropes 9 and 10, respectively. To the outer face of the said standards 65 are rigidly fixed one end of the oppositely-arranged bracket 78, Whose other ends are fixed to the opposite sides of the said portion 66. Between these brackets 78 and the adjacent bent portion of the respective standards 65, Fig. l0, are arranged the rotatable pulleys 56 and 56', respectively, over which pass the respective ropes 9 and 10, whereby while the pulleys 49 and 49' have a limited longitudinal movement with the bar 68, on which they are mounted, the supports for the pulleys 56 and 56 are at all times xed.

The operation of my invention thus described is, briefly stated, as follows: The telescoping sections of the chute 2 are extended and contracted in the usual manner, as occasion requires, by means of the common bar 79 and cable 80. The lateral shifting of the hood 2 upon its ball-bearings is effected as follows: When it is desired to shift the said hood to the left, the operator pushes inward on the handle 39 into the position shown in dotted outline in Fig. 2, thereby7 forcing the upper clutch member 34 into a locked engagement with the correspondingr upper clutch member 25 by means of the lever 37. This movement of the centrally-pivoted lever 37 also simultaneously withdraws the lower clutch member 34 :from its locked engagement with its corresponding member 25. The operator then rotates the gear-Wheel 32 to the left by means of the crank-handle 45, thereby rotating the gear-wheel 24 and the drum 7 to the right, thereby winding up the rope 9 on its drum. As the drum Sis now loose on its shaft, the rope l0 is free to unwind therefrom. To shift the said hood to the right, the operator pulls the lever 39 outward from the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 to the position shown in full lines therein, thereby interlocking the drum 8 with its clutch, as above described, after which he rotates the gear-wheel 32 to the right by means of the crank 45, thereby rotating the drum 8 to the left and Winding up the rope l0 thereon. The loose drum 7 permits the rope 9 thereon to unwind as required. The operator can thus conveniently adjust the hood from a position at or near the machine to deliver the straw in any desired direction.

The operation of myimproved brake for securing the hood in its adjusted position is as follows: As before stated, the brake-shoe is normally pressed firmly against the surface of the sleeve under the tension of the spring 69 and maintains a holding engagement therewith. When the operator rotates either of the said drums, and thereby winds thereon its corresponding rope 9 or 10 in the adjusting of the said hood, the tightening of either of the said ropes will slightly retract the bar 68, Fig. 9, against the tension of the spring 69', thereby releasing the said shoe from its holding engagement by means of the pivoted lever-arm 73. As soon as the tension of the said rope is slackened the brake-lever 74 will of course automatically resume its holding position. The rotatable hood is thus normally secured in position by means of a spring-pressed brake, which is automatically released from its holding engagement by the operation of the mechanism for rotating the hood. It is obvious that when the said spring 19 is properly arranged the unwinding of therope from said drums in the shifting of the hood will rotate the said drums to that eX- tent against the tension of the said spring 19, whereby under a proper adjustment of the tension of said springs the said drums will automatically take up all slackness in the ropes 9 and 10, which heretofore has been done entirely by hand.

When the telescoping chute 1 is either lengthened or shortened, as above described, the ropes 9 and 10 may be unwound from the said drums or wound thereon without the least interference with the tension of the contained springs 19, because extension or contraction of the chute-sections is eected by the rotation of the shaft 17, whichin turn correspondingly rotates the said drum-shafts through the medium of the sprocket-wheels 16, 12, and 13 and the actuating-chain 14. It is also obvious that the ropes cannot be unwound from the drums Without throwing one or the other out of gear. l

Obviously my improved brake mechanism may be variously modified in its details of construction without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, which consists in so connecting a holding-brake for the Ahood with the means for rotating the hood that it may be automatically released from its holding engagement by the rotationfof the said hood.

Having thus described my invention and the operation thereof, what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. Means for operating the hood of a pneumatic straw-stacker consisting of a pair of winding-drums mounted upon their respective supporting-shafts in vertical arrangement and having a chambered interior in which are arranged a helical spring and a xed clutch member; ropes or cables wound on said drums and having their outer ends secured to said hood; a longitudinallyadjustable clutch member loosely mounted on each of said shafts and adapted for an interlocking engagement with its said respective fixed clutch member; gear-wheels mounted on said IOO IIO

adjustable clutch members and xed to the said drums; an intermediate meshing gear adapted to actuate the said gear-wheels in opposite directions; means for actuating the said intermediate gear; and means for actuating the said adjustable clutch members.

2. Means for shifting a pneumatic strawstacker hood consisting of two parallel shafts one above the other; a pair of drums loosely mounted on said shafts and each having a helical spring arranged in the hollow interior thereof as described; ropes or cables Wound on said drums and having one end secured to the hood; a clutch member fixed on the said shafts respectively within the said drums; adjustable clutch members slidably mounted on said shafts respectively and adapted for a holding engagement with the said respective fixed members; gear-wheels mounted on said adjustable clutch members and fixed on said drums as shown; means for actuating the said gear-wheels and said drums in opposite directions; and means for alternately shifting the said clutch members into a holding engagement as described.

3. In a device of the class specied the combination of a horizontal shaft; a hollow Winding-drum loosely mounted on the shaft; a helical spring coiled about said shaft and within thesaid drum, and having one end thereof secured to the said shaft and the other end to the said drum; a clutch member fixed on said shaft within said drum and provided with a proper holding-pawl; a second clutch member slidably ymounted on said shaft and adapted for a locked engagement with the said fixed member; a gear wheel loosely mounted on the saidclutch and rigidly secured to the said drum; and means for shift'- ing thesaid clutch members into an interlocked engagement.

4. In a hood-adjuster for stacking-tubes, means for securing the hood in any desired adj ustment, consisting of a supporting-bracket fixed upon the stacking-tube adjacent to the said hood, having a pair of pulleys mounted thereon, and provided with a slidable springpressed bar carrying upon its forward end a vsecond pair of pulleys; and a pivoted brakelever normally in frictionalcontact with the said hood and having its outer end pivotally connected with the said bar.

5. Means for securing a stacking-tube hood in its rotary adjustment consisting of an upright bracket carrying a pair of pulleys for vthe hood-operating ropes or cables; a springpressed bar slidably mounted in said bracket and carrying upon its forward end a second pair of sheaves for said ropes; and a brakelever pivotally mounted on a proper support, and pivotally connected to the said bar, and

normally in a holding frictional engagement with the said hood; and a pair of operating ropes or cables-passing over the said pulleys as shown and having their forward end secured to said hood, whereby when the said ropes are tightenedin the act of adjusting the said hood the said brake-lever will automatically releaseits engagement with the said hood by the retraction of theI said bar.

6. A brake for a stacking-tube hood consisting of a supporting-bracket arranged adjacent to the rear end of the hood; a springpressed bar slidably mounted on said bracket and adapted to be actuated by the rotary movements of the said hood; and a brake-lever pivoted on a fixed support, having one end thereof pivotally connected with the said bar andthe other end normally in a holding engagement with the said hood.

7. Means for adjusting a stacking-tube hood consisting of a pair of Winding-drums having a meshing-gear connection and a clutch mechanism adapted for an alternate engagement with the said drums; a brake mechanism mounted on said tube adjacent to said hood consisting of -a longitudinally adjustable spring-pressed bar slidably mounted on a suitable support and carrying upon its forward end a pair of pulleys or sheaves over which pass the hood-shifting ropes and by which the said bar is actuated; a brake-lever pivotally mounted on a fixed support having one end thereof pivotally connected to said bar, and having its other end adapted for a holding engagement with said hood; and a pair of operating-ropes having one end thereof secured to said drums thence passed over said pulleys and having theirvforward end secured to said hood, whereby When power is applied to the operating-ropes to rotate the said hood the said brakewill be automatically released from its engagement with the said hood.

8. Means for operating the folding sections IOC of a stacking-tube hood consisting of an operating rope or cable having one end secured to said sections and the other end to a winding-drum on said tube; a iixed pulley for said rope or cable; anda hand-lever on said tube carrying upon its forward face a sheave or pulley for said rope, whereby the said hoodsections can be folded or extended by means of the said hand-lever.

Signed by me at Fort Wayne, Allen county, State of Indiana, this 14th day of June, A. D. 1902.

JACOB A. MOSER.

W itn esses Y ADELAIDE KEARNs, AUGUSTA VIBERG. 

